ST. LOUIS, Mo. - A historic afternoon for
Natalie Thomas was overshadowed by second-quarter shooting troubles for William Woods (7-5, 1-1 AMC) as the Owls fell 75-53 to Missouri Baptist (3-8, 1-1 AMC) on Saturday. Thomas finished with 12 points, putting her at 1,004 for her career, with
Sydney Booker adding 14 to lead all scorers.
MBU controlled the tip and knocked down a triple to open the scoring, but Woods roared back with three straight baskets by Thomas to take a 6-3 lead, extending to an 11-6 margin over the first four minutes. The Owls took a 15-14 lead into the first quarter break, with
Ruthie Brown knocking down a jumper with 32 seconds left in the frame.
Missouri Baptist capitalized on a pair of three-point plays answering a miss and a turnover from Woods to take a 20-15 lead, and continued to frustrate the Owls through the second quarter. Layups by Booker with 6:24 and 4:08 on the clock were the only field goal makes for Woods in the second, with Thomas hitting the 1,000-point plateau with a pair of free throws at the 3:25 mark.
Woods found a little bit of shooting range in the third quarter but wasn't able to close ground as a 41-24 halftime deficit ballooned to a 59-35 margin heading to the fourth and a final score of 75-53.
The Owls continue their AMC road swing on Tuesday, visiting Harris-Stowe State University on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
